Earl Hood

50,000+ signings & rising

from the updated petition site, one comment post I've copied for here >

Until 2008, Oklahoma experienced an average of one to two earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude or greater each year. (Magnitude-3.0 earthquakes tend to be felt, while smaller earthquakes may be noticed only by scientific equipment or by people close to the epicenter.)

In 2009, there were twenty. The next year, there were forty-two. In 2014, there were five hundred and eighty-five, nearly triple the rate of California.

Including smaller earthquakes in the count, there were more than five thousand. This year, there has been an average of two earthquakes a day of magnitude 3.0 or greater....

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/13/weather-underground

Interesting stats DL, there may be a trend there But I am not sure. However I am not convinced as the very latest info from Oklahoma is that there is a hiatus in quakes registered in the past month.

I like the jumper but not sure whether to take up the club's offer to buy one. I contacted the marketing department and asked if they thought the jumper would look as good on me as on Jack? I pointed out that I have a big head and am about 3 foot tall with strings attached.

I haven't got a response yet. Strange!

I think if we lifted the draft age to 26 we would have a good idea whether a particular draft prospect is up to it. Of course by then the kid you are after my have given up and be doing a TAFE course.

Jury is still out on Petracca but definitely nailed Brayshaw. He just looks like he relishes the contest, which is more than I can say for a lot of other players in our side.

On Salem and Bontempelli, I currently play in a draft league keeper format where you can keep 18 players each season. I am very happy to have both of those boys sitting in my team!

Year one we have not nailed anything! Petracca or Brayshaw at this stage. You need a good three years to evaluate at least. The Bont looks the goods so far over one and a bit seasons, I still believe the jury is out on Salem and Tyson so we still don't know whether we have stuffed up yet again.

All I notice is we are still in search of a competitive midfield after what 10 years yet others like the Bulldogs or Port can build a competitive, running unit in two or three seasons. It is not that difficult surely?

Terrible news. Good honest kid who has never got a clear run at it so far. Lung sists,chronic achillies, now lisfranc, give the kid a break! Gee we have had our fair share through the club, Bartram, Pettard, Clark, Trengove.

Your last sentence is a question I've asked for years. I've coached underage teams and I've coached senior players, and one thing that I can never understand is how they expect to make up space on a player if they start 1 Metre behind him, be it a stoppage or around the ground. Our players are always half a body behind at stoppages. You watch every Centre bounce where we were mauled, our players aren't in front holding their ground. They are either half a step behind with minimal body pressure, or they are plain missing. Macca is the best example. He has a hand on his opponent all game, giving him the shitz. Viney is another. I just want to see them hunt the ball a lot harder, make sure you're close enough so that your tackles stick and they can't get the ball away. Watching the replay, you see why we get goals flooded 8 or 9 in a row. We do the same thing every time. Do they play tighter when they have conceded goals? No. Do they niggle or try to block their opposite number? No. Do they even bother to start in front at a contest? No. It's the most basic things that this team still can't do and that is why we are opened up more than a call girls legs on a Saturday night.

So what are the coaches doing? Is that why Roos mentioned that players and coaches have to lift for next week?

I believe if you could somehow draft in six elite players who will always win a one on one contest, then you can play around trying to set trends a la the Hawks. Give me Hodge, Mitchell, Lewis, Roughy, Cyril, Burgoyne, Birchell first and then I will play around with high speed runners like Isaac Smith and B Hill to set a new trend.

L

I'm sick of hearing the argument about not having talent. We've had the best access to talent of any team outside GWS for 5 years and for 3 of them we recruited duds.

Just look at the Bulldogs. It only took them to nail 3 picks and they're looking seriously good when everyone predicted the spoon. We could've had at least 2 of the 3 key players in their resurrection, but we chose a different path.[/quote

So you agree we haven't drafted or recruited in enough talent? That is what you are saying I think!

A Swan supporting friend said to me earlier in the week that Roos was ruining his legacy coaching us. Hard to disagree.

As did Barassi perhaps. But Barassi set us up for the Northey era. Roos may set us up for Goodwin, perhaps?

Is someone disagreeing?

I will disagree. It is a talent issue and it is an effort issue. As Roosey said we are not blessed with talent and when you don't put in a 100% effort you get smashed and we are masters at the humiliating loss. Why can't you at least try? We don't have players who you know will win a one on one contest every time. The top teams have 10 or more who will always win a contest at least when they play the bottom 10 or 12 sides.

We have no game changers. In short zero elite talent and you need some to be competitive. And then you need some hunger and some mongrel. Again I don't see much of it from our leadership group.

We lack serious footspeed in the midfield. Sort that out and those guys start to look a whole lot better.

Give us another ten years and we will get that fixed I reckon.

So glad we put in all that hard work last year with Roosey building the defensive side of our game, our boys learning to run both ways so we wouldn't get cut to pieces like in the old Bailey days. this season we are ready to add the offensive icing on the cake and we are the fittest we have been for years. OK can someone explain today?

This season I was not expecting a lot of wins but we all hoped for 100% effort, games to fought out, leadership that kept us competitive for longer. Hmmm why is this too much to ask? We have one of the AFL's best coaches, elite facilities, we have turned the list over, brought in experience and some good young talent but we are still capable of turning into a rabble at any given moment when some pressure is applied. It is like their is some malevolent force down their that sucks the energy and talent out players who often played good football elsewhere before they walked through the club doors.

Mick is a victim of his poor list. He is coaching to the teams potential but then why are Betts, Garland and Waite playing somewhere else? Their problem was always the forward line for the past 8 years but they have kept unloading forwards since Mick arrived. Go figure?

HT who or what is your new avatar?

Grimes to me is made to be a run with midfielder similair to vineys role on Saturday. Was a midfielder as a junior, tough as teak good tackler and good overhead and willing to sacrifice his game.

Dunn was in a similair position and think roos will be supporting and encouraging him. But to me he needs the change in role.

Yes when he was drafted Emma Quayle predicted he would be a reliable midfielder for the next 10 years. Has he ever played for us in the middle for an extended run of games?

My sister grows only Pino and they seem to like it best. She also has some table grapes mixed in and as yet they have not touched them.

When i was there on Sunday the vines are just a mass of wasps. My brother in law has destroyed 23 nests in their area I have never seen anything like it.

Hanging rock winery is right next door, they have lost a lot of Pino but only small damage to other varieties.

It is hard to believe but they suck the juice right out the grape.

Leaves the empty skins in bunches on the vine.

This is potentially national emergency stuff for heavens sake! Dpositive get onto Brown Brothers and Gapstead pronto!

Great sign that Hogan's back troubles are behind him if he pulled up well and was able to train fully after his first AFL hit out

Hoges, they always were you know. His back troubles I mean. Even when he had them they were always behind him by definition. Sorry to be pedantic. And he may have pulled up well but using what? Oh sorry.....I will stop there.

Nah - he is a keeper. Happily accepts his MFC membership each year as his Christmas present and often tags along to the Dees game with me. I cannot really complain.He even went into Rebel Sport today and got my daughter a number 7 to iron onto the back of her Melbourne jumper. He is not your usual Collingwood supporter!!

He has a full set of teeth then Jane?

who is going to beat Hawthorn this season?

hars to see anyone. Amazing team.

Short answer is no one when it will count. I think you could compile any 22 players from the other 17 teams you like and I would still back the Dorks. I don't see an individual football weakness amongst their group and of course they play as a well drilled team, the main players have played together for 10 years so they know intuitively where others are in any contested situation. Threepeat on the way unless they get the sought of injuries they got last year but at the back end in the finals.

After attending the match today I hope Geelong has fallen off a cliff because the Dorks just played stunning football after the first quarter. If the Cats are still a top 6 side God help the rest of the competition. We might as well hand them threepeat cup now. If they had kicked the ones they usually do that could have been 100 pts plus. Their run and spread looks unstoppable, they somehow have 4 players at every contest and multiple options on the outside forward or back. Geelong made a lot of unforced errors, they maybe on the slide big time, they matched the Dorks on the inside for a while but they look very slow on the outside. No Varco, Christiansen this year, Motlop tried but made errors and Cockatoo was overawed. Mitch looks abit slower than I remember but still played well with 3 goals and a good run in the ruck. Hawkins had a shocker.

Off to the Gee to watch the Dorks vs Cats in the members. Not sure why I accepted the invitation and then found they all want to get there at 1.30, two hours before the game! I'll be pizzled before the first bounce. I could get evicted if I start abusing Clark when he takes a mark and then Frawley when he spoils Mitch and dont start me on Rivers. Things could turn ugly.

Happy that you brought this up 'Lamashtu'.

The AFL have talked about stamping this out and funnily enough there was an incident in the Carlton game the other night where the experts got it a...up. Talking about the player that got serious neck damage in the VFL a year or two back. The way they were talking the player ducking was in the right. I couldn't believe it.

I'm not talking a Selwood drop in the tackle move, I know it's annoying but if you can't tackle properly then it's your own fault if this one catches you out. I'm talking of where a player barges head first into an opponent like the Cross one.

Daniel Harford is really big on this and I'm with him. If a player ducks and rams into the on coming player as the one you mentioned against Cross it's an automatic free kick to Cross.

Personally I think it needs to go even further and the player should get weeks. I know this seems harsh but hear me out. If this is not stamped out, and now a player will end up in a wheel chair, it's only a matter of time.

What's a few weeks in the sin bin to a lifetime in a wheel chair.

Rjay I agree with most of your comments but take issue with Selwood' s tactics. Isn't it the same as someone ducking their head into an opponent? Yes it might be less dangerous to Selwood but the umpires are paying him a free because it is potentially as dangerous. I am sick of seeing the Selwoods drop their legs as soon as they sense contact and more importantly raising their arms as soon as they are grabbed. The Hawks Peoppollo does it every time he is tackled, his arms go up to make the tackler's arms slip up to the shoulder, no doubt plenty of oil on his arms as well. And yet another cheap free payed inside 50. I believe if a tackle is legal when first applied it should be deemed legal even if it slips up or down because the tackled player drops his legs, raises his arms or keeps running on in the tackle.

Happened a few minutes ago in the Port/Freo match. Polec (I think) ducking his head straight into a Freo player attempting a tackle, all only metres from the Freo goalsquare.

Lo and behold, paid a free kick by the ump. Really lose respect for great players when they pull this kind of cheap crap.

I think the great players have always exploited the rules to the limit. If umpires are silly enough to pay this tripe your best players will duck their head in heavy traffic. I thought the AFL and rules committee had woken up to this rubbish.

Cross also got done for diving on the ball late in the last quarter and supposedly endangering a Suns player's legs. The problem for me was Cross arrived first onto the ball and the Suns player second and why ignore the earlier 90 minutes of footy where this probably happened a dozen times but no frees called?

I think the most important factor was the absence of poorly skilled players, Bail, M. Jones, Grimes, McKenzie et al. And replacing them with guys who don't repeatedly turn the ball over. The more attacking style of play was also more attractive to watch. We actually looked like an AFL side!!

Hmmm you are right but there were a number of brain fades/clangers during the game. Against better sides we would have been punished big time. If we can cut out some of the pedestrian efforts we could really be something. We appear to have a number of good role players, now all we need now is about three game breakers.

Where's the trumpeter?